Silenced
by PerrythePlatypusGirl
Summary: Young Audrey is blissfully enjoying her perfect life in Thneedville, not giving a thought about what could possibly be better. Then one fateful day, she finds herself at the top of the Town Wall and makes a discovery that changes her life forever...
1. Discovery

**A/N: So, this is Audrey's backstory. I'm not sure if this has been done yet, but this is my take on it. Enjoy!**

_ "Good moooooooooorning Thneedvile!"_

The artificial sun emerged from its usual spot and cast its bright light onto the plastic city. As its light poured through the windows of every building, the well-rested citizens of Thneedville yawned and sat up in their beds, each one ready to begin a new day.

_"It's another perfect day here in our perfect town! The forecast calls for just the right amount of sunshine and a perfect breeze, just like always! In just a few minutes, the O'Hare blimp will be making its rounds over our lovely town, and for the first time ever, you can see out wonderful Mayor up close at the newly constructed Kite Park…"_

A young girl lay flat on her back in her room as she lazily reached up and turned down the volume of her radio. Staring up at the window above her, she pulled up her shirt, revealing her belly, and counted down the seconds until the sun would illuminate her bedroom.

"Three…two…one…"

The sunlight penetrated through the glass window and warmed up the skin of her belly just as she got to "zero." Audrey smiled.

She loved how the sun was always on time.

The young girl flipped over to lay on her stomach and went back to the doodle she had been working on the night before. Her short red hair slipped off of her shoulders and hung around her face as she sketched. Annoyed, she repeatedly brushed her bangs out of the way before finally grabbing a hair clip to hold them back.

Audrey help up her drawing of a ballerina and frowned. "I can never draw people," she mumbled to herself. "They always come out looking like…trees." As she spoke, she sat up and glanced out the window at the tree outside of her house. She observed as a short man in a green fluorescent vest walked over to the plastic ornament and turned it on. The light bulbs on the tree started flashing in all different colors. Around it, people walked about, happily starting their daily routines.

Audrey set her drawing aside._ Oh well,_ she thought._ There's not much time for drawing, anyway. Jenni will be here any minute._ With a sigh, the 10-year-old girl lay back down and uncovered her belly again. She closed her eyes, allowing her mind to drift. Her mother had always told her that she daydreamed too much, and that it wasn't good for her. Audrey didn't really care. She couldn't help daydreaming because she was always so curious about everything, from new video games, to new clothes, to the new KitePark where she and Jenni planned to go first thing in the morning.

Audrey vaguely wondered how high a kite could fly. Would it be able to go over the Town Wall? Audrey chuckled to herself. No, of course not. Of course, it didn't matter much. There was nothing of value outside the Wall anyway…

"What are you doing?"

Audrey jerked upwards in surprise as the voice interrupted her thoughts. Looking towards the door, she saw her best friend Jenni McGregor standing there, wearing mismatched clothes and an amused grin on her face. Audrey blushed in embarrassment and covered her belly with her shirt. "Oh, you're here…" she mumbled. "I-I was just…sitting in the sun, you know."

Jenni giggled, her messy brown pigtails brushing her shoulders. "Do you do that every morning?"

"…Yeah, so?"

Jenni laughed. "You're so funny, Audrey."

Audrey stood up and huffed, but smiled in spite of herself. "Me, funny? What about you? You're the one who goes out in public wearing clothes that don't match!" She pointed at the sleeves of Jenni's shirt, each of which was a different color. The same was true about her socks and her hair ties.

Jenni folded her arms and grinned. "Excuse you. I'll have you know that only the coolest kids wear mismatched clothes these days."

Audrey rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, Jen. Let me just grab my Frisbee and we'll be on our way."

Jenni frowned. "Wait, Frisbee? What happened to your kite?"

Audrey picked up her Frisbee and shrugged. "Oh, it broke. So I thought we could take the Frisbee instead."

"So we're taking a Frisbee to the KitePark?"

"Well, nobody said we could _only_ play with kites at the Kite Park..."

Jenni chuckled. "You know what? I like that you're funny."

"I like it too."

The two friends giggled and headed down the stairs. Audrey headed into the kitchen and grabbed a couple of Boomtarts for the road, when suddenly the doorbell rang. Audrey frowned. "I wonder who that could be…" she mumbled.

Jenni checked the window. "Oh, it's that little kid from next door. I think his name's Tim or Jim or something…"

The girls opened the door to see a young boy, no older than seven, staring up at them with big brown eyes.

"Hi there," Audrey greeted sweetly. "What's up?"

The boy looked down at his feet. "I…I think my ball landed in your backyard…" he mumbled.

"It did? Well, let's go check it out." Audrey walked to the back door, and the little boy followed her slowly. Jenni walked next to him and smiled, trying to seem friendly.

"So, Tim…" Jenni began. "You like playing ball?"

In response, the boy frowned up at her. "My name isn't Tim!"

Jenni raised an eyebrow. "Oh, sorry. Is it Jim?"

"It's_ Ted!"_

"Oh. Well, I was close, right?"

"Found it!" Audrey called from outside.

Ted shot Jenni another annoyed look before running into the backyard. Jenni shrugged off the embarrassment and followed. Ted's bright red bouncy ball had been caught in the branches of a plastic tree, and Audrey was already venturing up to get it.

Jenni's eyes widened. "Whoa, careful! If you don't stop climbing things like a monkey you'll fall off and bump your head!"

Audrey rolled her eyes at the stupid joke. "I can climb like a monkey if I want!" she retorted.

Jenni snickered. "If monkeys were real, you'd be their queen, Audrey."

"Yes, and you would be my royal servant."

Jenni giggled again and patted Ted's shoulder. "Don't worry Ted, Audrey will get your ball down."

Suddenly, Ted jumped away from Jenni as if she was some kind of monster. "Don't touch me!" he yelped. "You'll get your girl cooties all over me!" He quickly began brushing off his shoulder where Jenni had patted him.

"My girl _what?"_

"Cooties! Your creepy girl germs that you spread to everything! You got them on me!"

Jenni stood stupefied for a moment, and then proceeded to rub her hands all over the boy's head, just to annoy him.

Ted screamed.

"Jenni, don't be mean to the poor kid!" Audrey called from her spot in the tree. She finally got hold of the red ball and jumped down. "Here you go, Ted." She held out the ball to him with a smile, and Ted stared up at her in awe for a second before snatching the ball from her hands.

"Great, now it's covered in your cooties too! I have to go and wash it off!" Without another word, Ted turned and ran off in the direction from which he had come.

Jenni snickered. "Wow. What a nice kid," she said sarcastically. "Shall we go now?"

Audrey giggled. "Yes, we shall."

Outside the town was busy as always. People were walking and running every which way with smiles on their faces. Jenni grabbed Audrey's arm and pulled her through the crowds. The KitePark was brand new and would most likely be crowded, and Jenni wanted to get there as soon as possible.

Suddenly Audrey stopped. "Oh, Jenni, look!" She pointed to the window of a nearby store. "It's the new O'Hare brand Walk-on-Air shoes!"

Jenni gasped with delight as they ran up to the window. "You mean those ones that make you jump really high?" the brunette asked.

"Yes!" Audrey squealed. "I've wanted them for such a long time!"

"Me too!"

The two of them dashed into the store and walked over to the friendly-looking clerk at the counter. He smiled at them.

"Hi there!" he greeted. "What can I do for you girls?"

"Can we have two pairs of Walk-on-Air shoes please?" Audrey asked.

"Of course. Just come with me and we'll find some shoes your size."

A few minutes later, the girls came bounding out of the store, laughing as they jumped down the road in their brand-new springy shoes.

"Ok, now let's head straight to the KitePark to avoid the crowd!" Jenni said. "No more distractions!"

"Ok!"

And they went directly to the KitePark…after, of course, they stopped to buy a bunch of O'Hare energy bars and two pairs of O'Hare Kool-Vision Goggles, which were supposed to make you feel like you were in a video game. Jenni agreed that there were time worthy distractions. After all, you can't have fun without extra snacks and brand-spanking-new play equipment.

Just as expected, the KitePark was filled to the brim with people by the time the girls arrived.

"Great," Jenni groaned. "I knew this would happen."

"Hey, cheer up, Jen." Audrey nudged her friend and pointed to the corner of the park. "There's still an empty spot over there."

Careful not to stand too close to the edge (the park was located on the rooftop of a mall), Audrey and Jenni put their stuff down and began to play catch with the Frisbee.

"Throw it high so I can jump and catch it!" Audrey shouted, and Jenni did so. They were quiet for a moment, tossing the Frisbee back and forth and using their new bounce shoes to jump and catch it.

"Hey, Audrey, you know what Thneedville really needs?"

"What do you mean?" Audrey giggled. "It's already perfect!"

Jenni laughed. "Well, yeah, but you know what would make it even better? A theme song!"

Audrey's face lit up at the idea, so Jenni continued. "It can be something totally awesome, like,

_Everything's perfect in Thneedville!_

_This is as good as it gets!"_

Audrey joined in.

_ "Greatest life I could ask for!_

_And we won't ever forget!"_

They sang together.

_"I can't imagine anything better!_

_I'd never choose anyplace else!_

_Ooooh, Thneedville!_

_Thneedville's the best!"_

The girls laughed for a moment. "Think it'll catch on?" asked Jenni.

"Yeah probabl—whoa!" Audrey flailed in the air for a moment as she barely managed to catch the high-flying Frisbee. "That was too high!" she complained as she landed.

Jenni frowned. "No it wasn't. You just weren't jumping right!"

"Oh yeah! Here!" Audrey tossed the Frisbee as high as she could. Jenni jumped up and caught it with ease, and threw it back even higher at Audrey.

The red-head jumped for the Frisbee but she missed it. The disc continued flying upward until it was in front of the giant fans, which blew it even higher.

"Oops…" Jenni mumbled.

The Frisbee continued to glide through the air until it finally came to a rest on the very top of the Town Wall.

Jenni stared up in dismay. There was no way to get the Frisbee down now, even though the Wall was relatively close to the KitePark.

Audrey frowned and glanced at her new shoes. "Hey, maybe we can jump for it."

Jenni rolled her eyes. "No we can't, it's too far…"

Audrey tried anyway. She jumped in place a couple of times to gain momentum, then launched herself forward…but then she chickened out and landed with a skid on the edge of the roof.

Jenni laughed. "C'mon, Audrey, it's just a Frisbee. We'll just go get another one." The brunette turned around and started to walk toward the elevator.

Audrey hesitated. At this point, the Town Wall was only a few yards away. If the shoes really worked as they were advertised, she could jump to the top with ease. A little nervous at first, she took a few shaky jumps. With each jump, she gained a little bit more height and more confidence.

Her heart pounded in her chest as she flew up and down. _What am I doing?_ she thought to herself._ It's just a Frisbee!_

But as she sailed upward, she could not shake the feeling that somehow she_ could_ do it. The wall was only a few yards away, and that Frisbee was new! She jumped even higher.

At that moment, Jenni finally noticed that her friend wasn't following her. "Hey Audrey, where did you go…?" The brunette turned around just in time to see Audrey launch herself off the rooftop, straight toward the Town Wall.

_ "Audrey!"_

Audrey sailed through the air, arms outstretched to grab the edge of the wall. Her eyes were on the Frisbee, and she was certain that she would make it.

She was wrong.

Almost in slow motion, Audrey felt herself begin to fall. Panicking, the girl flailed her arms desperately and barely managed to grab hold of a crevice in the wall. Her heart pounded in her throat and Audrey silently cursed her own stupidity. What on earth had possessed her to do this?

From behind her, Audrey heard Jenni's desperate cries for help. The red-head glanced down and realized there was nothing below her to catch her fall. She closed her eyes and gulped, attempting to stay calm. Her fingers would slip off if she held on for too long, so there was nowhere to go but up. At least there she would be stable until someone came to help her.

Channeling her inner monkey, Audrey climbed to the top of the wall and sat facing the town, taking a few deep breaths to calm herself down. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted her Frisbee next to her.

"You!" she snapped, snatching up the plastic object. "You possessed me to jump over here, it's your fault that I'm—." she was suddenly interrupted by a series of hacking coughs.

"What in the—?!"

Covering her nose, the girl turned her head around, gazing for the first time in her life into the outside of Thneedville.

She froze.

Meanwhile, Jenni had climbed down the elevator and screamed to everyone to get help for her friend. A huge crowd formed around the Wall and Thneedville's fire department showed up.

Audrey took no notice. The girl had never put much thought into what could possibly be outside of Town, but the reality of it was worse that anything she could have possibly imagine. It was dark, cold, and smoggy, and in general it just held the atmosphere of death.

It was an empty and barren wasteland.

A small gray lump in the ground caught her eye. Audrey looked closer, but she was unable to see clearly what it was from her place atop the Wall. It looked like the remains of something, and soon Audrey realized that there was more than one—in fact, they were everywhere, and they seemed to stretch out for miles and miles as far as she could see.

What _were_ they?

"Audrey!"

Audrey snapped out of her trance at the sound of someone calling her name. Glancing down, she saw Jenni standing with two firemen on a platform atop a very high ladder. The ladder did not reach all the way to the top of the wall, and it was about a five foot drop from there to the platform. One fireman stepped forward and held out his arms.

"It's ok," the fireman said. "Just jump down, I'll catch you."

Audrey hesitated, unsure of what to do. She did want to get down, but at the same time, she could not seem to tear herself away from the decimated scene behind the Wall.

"Audrey, what are you waiting for?!" Jenni yelled. "Jump down!"

"Don't be scared, Audrey," the fireman reassured her. "I'll catch you, I promise."

Audrey took one more glance at the wasteland. Then she cautiously got up, and, after another short moment of hesitation, jumped into the fireman's waiting arms. Relived that she was finally down to safety, the young girl wrapped her arms around her rescuer's neck and let a couple of stray tears escape from her eyes.

"We've got her!" the fireman called. The crowd below erupted into cheers and applause. The fireman patted Audrey's back comfortingly as the platform lowered. "It's ok," he told her. "You're safe now."

Audrey nodded shakingly and let the fireman put her down. "Th-thank you," she said, and the fireman smiled.

Jenni suddenly came up to Audrey and engulfed her in a hug. "Audrey, are you insane?!" the brunette shouted. "You could have died!"

"I-I thought I could do it…I-I thought…"

She trailed off. Jenni said no more.

As soon as the platform reached the ground, Audrey suddenly found herself surrounded by news reporters. The fireman told them to give her some space, but they paid him no mind.

"Little girl!" one reporter called. "How did you get to the top of the Town Wall?"

"Is it true that you jumped?" another one asked. "What were you thinking?"

Audrey stood there stunned for a moment and gaped at them, before finally forming her thoughts into words. "M-my Frisbee…" she stammered. "My Frisbee got b-blown onto the wall and I thought…" she glanced distastefully down at her new Walk-on-Air shoes. "I-I thought I could jump to it with my new shoes…"

Audrey glared down at the shoes, the she stooped down and pulled them off her feet and tossed them in front of the crowd.

"I don't want them anymore," she declared, before turning and stomping down the road in her socks. The reporters called for her once more, but she ignored them.

When she had walked down a few blocks, she stopped and leaned back against a wall, trying to take in everything that had just happened. And, more importantly, she wondered what the heck those gray lumps behind the Wall had been. All her life she had been told that the outside of Town held nothing, absolutely _nothing._ And yet, there _was_ something back there. What was it?

"Audrey?" Jenni called out to her friend. "Are you ok?"

Audrey nodded. "Jenni…let's not go to the KitePark again."

"…Ok."

They were quiet for a moment.

"…I saw what was behind the Wall."

Jenni turned to Audrey, confused. "What are you talking about? There's nothing behind the Wall."

"No, Jenni!" There _is_ something out there. I saw it! There was a lot of smog, and…and gray lumps in the ground…"

"Gray lumps…?"

"Y-yeah, and there were cliffs and pathways, and stuff!"

"Pathways to where…?"

"I don't know…but it seemed like…like something had _died_ out there. It's…" she paused. "It's like we're living in the middle of a graveyard."

Jenni blinked. "Audrey…" she placed a hand on Audrey's shoulder. "You went through a lot just now. Maybe you should go home and rest."

Audrey stared up at Jenni, then she nodded and sighed. "You're probably right…"

The two girls started to walk toward Audrey's house.

"Jenni, am I going crazy?" Audrey asked. "I feel like I'm going crazy."

Her friend stared at her for a while and them grinned, trying to lighten the mood. "You sure are," she replied. "First you're climbing trees like a monkey, then you try to fly like a bird!"

Audrey gaped at her for a moment, then burst into laughter. "You're right, Jenni!" she placed a hand on Jenni's shoulder. "Next thing you know I'll start believing in Santa Claus!"

"Yeah, or the Lorax!"

"The_ what?"_ Audrey laughed.

Jenni giggled. "It was something my grandma used to talk about before she died. Apparently he was the guardian of trees or something."

"Why would_ trees_ need _guarding?"_ Audrey snorted.

"I don't know! Grandmas say the weirdest things sometimes!"

...

* * *

><p>"Audrey, I don't believe you! What on earth were you thinking?!"<p>

Audrey sat with her head down as she listened to her mother's lecture. Her father was sitting in the other room, already having given her a lecture, but her mother seemed to feel the need to repeat it over and over.

"I don't care how new your shoes were! You should have better judgment than that!" the woman stormed. "You almost_ killed_ yourself for a_ Frisbee!_ Wht's the matter with you?!"

"I'm sorry, mom!" Audrey cried. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "I'm sorry!"

Seeing her daughter's tears, the woman seemed to soften a little. She plopped herself down in a chair and rubbed her head with her hand. "I-I was scared to death," Audrey's mom continued. "I can't believe you would go and pull a stunt like that. I couldn't bear to lose you, darling. Why would you do that?"

"I was dumb. I'm sorry."

Audrey's mother took her into her arms. "Alright, sweetie. But don't ever do anything crazy like that again. I don't know what I'd do…"

Audrey nodded.

"…Also, you're grounded for a month."

Audrey laughed a little. The two pulled away from each other and Audrey's mother gave her a tissue to wipe her tears.

"…Hey mom?"

"Yes, dear?"

"What's outside of Thneedville?"

Her mother frowned. "Nothing, sweetie. Why would you ask that?"

"When I was on top of the Wall, I saw something, like a bunch of gray lumps. You don't know what they are?"

Her mother's frown deepened. "No, I know. It's nothing of interest, darling, just a bunch of dead trees."

Audrey blinked. "Trees?" she asked. "You mean like the trees in our yard?"

"No, no…" her mom shook her head. "They were different trees."

"Different how?"

"Oh, you know…different. Your grandfather told me about them, nothing but hunks of wood that grew out of the ground. They didn't even glow or do anything useful." The woman got up, exasperated, and turned to leave. "Anyway, they're all gone now, so there's nothing to worry about. Now go to your room, young lady."

Audrey did as she was told. Shutting the door behind her, she lay on her bed and stared at the ceiling, wondering.

Her mother had said "_dead_ trees." If they were dead, did that mean they used to be_ alive?_ Audrey frowned and turned onto her side. How could a tree live? Did they walk and talk the way she could? And what had caused them to die? Why weren't they around anymore?

She turned onto her back again. _Maybe I'll go see my gramma once my month is up,_ she thought._ She might know the answer._

Satisfied with her decision, Audrey slipped under the covers and closed her eyes.

That night, she dreamed of gray lumps and trees.


	2. Betrayal

**A/N: I may have had a little too much fun with this one. XDD O'Hare is such a douche and I love it. XDD Anyway, Audrey does sing in this chapter, and I have the song posted on SoundCloud. So when you see the link, copy and paste it into a new tab to hear the song!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Audrey sat in the waiting room staring at the clock, her feet dangling from the high cushioned chair that she was sitting in. It had been such a long time since she had been to the nursing home, and now she remembered why. The air smelled funny, and it was deathly silent save for the ticking of the clock, causing Audrey to fidget uncomfortably.<p>

Hearing footsteps, Audrey looked up to see the receptionist, a tall Asian woman in her forties, approaching her. The receptionist smiled. "All right, Audrey," she said, breaking to silence. "You can go see your grandmother now."

"Thank you," Audrey responded politely. Relieved to finally be out of that waiting room , she let the receptionist lead her down the long hallways and point her to her gramma's room. Audrey entered and slowly closed the door behind her. "Gramma!" she called. "Are you there?"

"Audrey darling!" Her grandmother, seeming to materialize out of nowhere, suddenly appeared and gave Audrey a big hug, smocking her cheek several times in the process.

"It's been so long, my dear! Where on earth have you been?" The woman stopped kissing Audrey's face for a moment and looked up hopefully. "Is your mom with you?"

"…No, gramma. Mom's at work. I came here alone."

Her gramma's pale face dropped. "Oh," she whispered, looking rather disappointed. But then she shook it off, brushed her long silver hair out of her green eyes, and resumed smiling. "Oh, no matter. I'm still happy you came. Would you like some gelatin?" She pulled out a tray filled with a variety of different gelatin-foods and placed it in front of Audrey. "Help yourself."

Audrey grimaced. There was nothing in the world that she hated more than gelatin, but given the circumstances, she would eat it just to be polite. As she poked her fork at a gooey strawberry gelatin on the tray, her grandmother continued chattering.

"Oh, I've just wanted you to come for so long, there's just so much to talk about," she said. "Did you hear that they recalled those new air-walk shoes because some crazy kid jumped off a roof last month and thought she could fly?" Her gramma shook her head, clearly disappointed. "I swear, children just don't think at all these days. They're just a bunch of mindless little machines that believe whatever they're told."

Audrey blushed a little in embarrassment and cleared her throat. "Umm, gramma…that crazy kid was me…"

Her gramma blinked her opal eyes at Audrey before laughing. "Oh, that's a good one, Audrey. But it couldn't have been you. You're much smarter than that."

Audrey bit her lip and let the subject slide. There was something more important to be discussed anyway. "Gramma…" the girl started. "Can I…ask you something?"

"Of course."

"…do you remember anything about trees?"

The old woman stopped moving. When she looked at Audrey, the cheerfulness in her face had been replaced surprise and a hint of sadness. "Trees…?" she repeated softly. Then she forced a chuckle. "Why, darling…why do you want to know about trees?"

"I saw them…behind the Wall."

Her grandmother turned her head around, not looking at Audrey. "Don't be ridiculous, honey. There's nothing behind the Wall."

"Yes there is!" Audrey snapped. Realizing that she was shouting, the girl quickly lowered her voice. "I saw them…and my mom said they were trees…and that they grew."

Her gramma said nothing.

"…What were they like, gramma?"

Audrey's grandmother slowly turned back to her, a hint of tear in her eyes. The woman sat down in front of Audrey and sighed. "I shouldn't be telling you this…" she mumbled. After a moment she looked up at Audrey again. "Trees were…trees were amazing…I-I hardly know where to start…"

"Were they really alive?" Audrey cut in.

Her gramma nodded. "Yes, they were alive, all right. And they were beautiful…"

"How? Could they walk and talk like us?"

"No, no, they couldn't walk or talk, but they _grew,_ just like us. A tree would start off as a little seed," the woman held out her fingers to show the size of a tree seed. "and then it would grow into a little sapling, and after a few years it would be huge! Bigger than people!"

Audrey did not know what "seed" or "sapling" meant, but she couldn't help but feel fascinated by her gramma's broad gestures and elated expression.

"And you know what else?" they woman continued. "When they got big enough, they would grow fruit!"

Audrey's eyes widened. "Fruit…?"

"Yes! And you could eat it!"

"_Food_ grew on _trees?_"

"Yes, it did!" her gramma beamed with excitement. "There were all different kinds of trees. Some grew fruit, some grew flowers, some grew nuts, and all of them were full of animals, and—."

"Animals?" the girl interrupted. "You mean, like…monkeys, and birds, and bears…?"

"Yes, those were the ones!"

Audrey looked confused. "They were real? But I thought they were just stories…"

Her gramma shook her head. "No, of course they were real. They were everywhere, and they were adorable. You would have loved them…"

The red-head listened intently. She was not sure if she was entirely convinced by her gramma's tales, but they were interesting nonetheless. "Wow," Audrey said. "What happened to all of that? Where did it go?"

Her gramma's expression faltered and become solemn again. "…Just a bunch of ignorant people doing ignorant things," the woman responded. "And nobody really understood until it was too late…"

There was a moment of silence. "Audrey was about to say more, when the receptionist opened the door and poked her head in.

"Audrey," the receptionist said softly. "Your appointment time is up. It's time to go."

"Oh." Disappointed, Audrey glanced back at her gramma, who smiled warmly.

"Come back any time you have questions, dear," her gramma said. "I'll be happy to tell you everything you want to know."

Audrey nodded and smiled before following the receptionist out into the hall. As she left, she heard her gramma softly begin to sing a jingle to herself.

"_Everybody needs a—_" the woman stopped singing abruptly and muttered a few angry words under her breath before the door was shut.

* * *

><p>"Earth to Audrey! Hellooooo!"<p>

Audrey blinked out of her daze and glanced up from her sketchbook to where Audrey was sitting across the table. "S-sorry, did you say something?" the red-head asked innocently.

Jenni grinned and played round with the spoon in her frozen yogurt. "No, nothing, I was just asking if you wanted that new tree model, and you didn't answer."

"O-oh…what new model?"

"That one, duh!" Jenni pointed to a poster right outside the frozen yogurt shop that advertised a new Party Oak Tree model. Jenni smiled again. "Doesn't it look cool? I want it."

Audrey's brow furrowed for a moment before she turned back to her sketches. "It's fine…" she mumbled. She wasn't really all that interested. She would much rather focus on her drawing of the trees stumps (as she had recently learned they were called) that she had seen behind the Wall.

Jenni paused and observed her friend for a moment. "You're…awfully spacey lately, aren't you?"

Audrey shrugged. "The tree's fine, Jen. It's just, well…" she hesitated. "Jenni, have you ever wondered what it would be like to have a _real_ tree?"

A confused look crossed Jenni's face. "A _real_ tree? What are you talking about?"

"You know, a real one! That lives and grows and stuff!"

"No. Why would I want that? Where did you even get that idea?"

"Well…" Audrey glanced at her drawing, "I…I've been thinking a lot about trees ever since I saw the stumps behind the Wall…"

At that moment, Jenni rolled her eyes and groaned. "Audrey, seriously? You're still thinking about those things? Get over it already!"

"No, Jenni! You don't understand! M-my gramma told me that they were beautiful and they had animals in them—."

"_Animals?_"

"Yeah, animals! They were real!"

Jenni rubbed her temples in exasperation. "Audrey, come on! You know better than to believe a gramma! They always make up stories!"

"Yes, but…but my gramma saw them! If it wasn't true, then why would the stumps be there?"

Jenni sighed loudly. "Audrey, listen…even if what you saw out there is real, _they're all dead now,_ so it doesn't matter! And you shouldn't think about old dead things, it's not…" Jenni stopped abruptly, as if stopping herself from some horrible thought. "It's not _normal,_ ok? And I don't want you to talk about it anymore."

"Well, I can talk about whatever I want!" Audrey snapped, crossing her arms defiantly. "And I'd much rather have a real tree than another plastic fake one."

Jenni looked shocked for a moment. Then she glared down at her now-melted frozen yogurt and said no more.

* * *

><p>"Alright, class! Open your textbooks to page five…"<p>

Audrey groaned with the rest of the class. The first week back at school was always a pain. Weren't the teachers supposed to, like, ease their transition back into school or something?

Reluctantly, Audrey pulled out her heavy textbook and opened it to page five. Luckily, it was just an introduction to the class, so it was nothing heavy. Audrey rested her head on her hand and began to skim the page. _Blah, blah, blah…study of math, study of English, study of biology…_

Audrey's eyes suddenly lit up. She read that last line again and quickly raised her hand.

"Yes, Audrey?"

"It says biology…" Audrey said hesitantly. "Biology means things that are alive, right?"

"Yes, Audrey…of course, humans are the only—."

"So, trees?" Audrey cut in. "Are we gonna talk about trees?"

The other students turned to stare at her, while the teacher blinked, taken aback. "What…what do you mean? Trees aren't alive."

"Well, not _now,_ but they used to be…"

There were snickers from around her, and the teacher shook her head. "No, Audrey. We're not going to talk about trees. Please don't bring it up again."

Audrey drooped in her seat. It looked like school would be boring this year after all.

After school was over she sat in the quad with Jenni and told her what had happened in class.

Maybe she's right, Audrey." Jenni told her friend. "Maybe you shouldn't talk about trees. I mean, nobody else is talking about them, so why should we?"

"But that doesn't make any sense!" Audrey cried, throwing her hands in the air. "If they were so amazing, why won't anyone say anything?"

"Maybe they weren't really so amazing, have you ever thought of that?"

"Jenni, you may not have trusted your gramma, but I trust mine."

A few feet away, Jenni spotted a couple of boys from Audrey's class pointing directly at Audrey and snickering.

Audrey didn't notice. "I just wish I knew where they went, and why they were there in the first place." The red-head jumped up suddenly. "You know what? I think I'll go to the library and do some research on it. You wanna come?"

Jenni remained where she was and folded her arms, frowning. "No, Audrey. I don't want to get involved in this. Everyone's going to make fun of us!"

"Who cares?"

"I care! I don't wanna be made fun of!" the brunette paused. "A-and I don't want you to be made fun of either. So can you please just stop?"

Audrey blinked at her friend, frustrated. She had never seen Jenni act this way before. "Fine then." She snapped. "I'll just find the answers on my own." She turned around and walked away. "See you tomorrow, Jenni."

Jenni sat where she was, staring worriedly at Audrey until the red-head turned a corner. Then the brunette girl sighed, got up, and walked in another direction. As she passed by the table where the two boys were sitting, Jenni suddenly found herself shoved to the ground.

She glared up at the boy who had pushed her. "What was that for?" she snapped.

"Sorry, didn't mean to push you that hard," the boy lied, and his friend laughed. "But we saw you talking to that weird red-head. Are you a tree freak too?"

Jenni's eyes widened and she quickly stood up. "No," she answered, and turned to leave.

"Are you sure about that?" the boy asked.

She hurried off.

The boy called after her again. "That's not normal, you know!"

Jenni walked faster.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Audrey browsed through the library's shelves, looking for anything that might help her. As she looked through the seemingly endless supply of information, she spotted a couple of books about the history of Thneedville. Smiling, the young girl pulled them off the shelf.<p>

Audrey leaned against a wall to browse through the book, but to her surprise, the wall gave way and she found herself stumbling backward into another room. As it turned out, the "wall" that Audrey was leaning on was just a piece of cloth covering an old door.

Audrey looked around. She had never been to this part of the library before. It was really dark, and all the books looked old and abandoned and dusty. It gave her the creeps. Shivering, Audrey quickly left the room and sat down at a table in the main library.

She opened the first book.

_Before Thneedville,_ it read, _there was nothing was nothing but a barren wasteland covering the earth. Then, a young man named Aloysius O'Hare arose out of the ashes, and he resolved to make everything perfect for all of mankind…_

Audrey closed the book. She had already learned all of this stuff in school. There would be nothing about trees in this one. She picked up the second one and flipped through it, but unfortunately, it was more or less the same as the first. Audrey leaned back in her chair and sighed in frustration, wondering what to do next. After a moment she decided to get up and ask the librarian. Maybe she could help.

"Excuse me," Audrey said shyly, walking up to the young woman behind the desk. "But do you know where I can find a book about trees?"

The librarian smiled and pointed to a row of shelves in the corner. "You'll find everything you need right over there."

"Thank you."

Audrey ventured over to where the librarian had indicated. To her surprise, she found that the aisle was labeled, "Technology and Manufacturing." Frowning, Audrey picked up a book and read the title. _The Art of Making Trees,_ it said.

Audrey went back.

"Um, I'm sorry…" she said to the librarian, but I was talking about _real_ trees."

The woman gave her a confused look.

"You know," Audrey continued. "The ones that weren't made out of plastic…?"

"We don't have anything about that."

"Nothing?" Audrey's eyes widened in surprise and she gestured around the building. "Not in this whole library?"

The librarian shrugged. "Sorry, hun. But nobody's ever written a book about that."

Audrey frowned. "Oh," she mumbled. "Well, thanks anyway."

The girl walked out of the library, lost, wondering what her next move would be. She only wished she could go see her gramma again, but unfortunately, visitors were only allowed in the nursing home on weekends. But surely there was _someone_ else in town who could tell her about real trees.

For the next few days, Audrey did not stop asking around. Everywhere she went, she looked for whatever information she could get about trees. At school the kids were calling her "Audtree" and "Tree Freak," but Audrey didn't care. Despite Jenni's protests, she continued searching, determined to find the answers that she wanted. But it was no use. Nobody would tell her anything. Even the very mention of real trees was something that the people of Thneedville found to be preposterous.

Thursday evening, Audrey flopped down in annoyance on her bed. How could it be possible that nobody knew about real tress except for her gramma? Audrey was sure of it—something was _definitely_ being hidden from her. But what could it possibly be?

** /perrytheplatypusgirl/out-there**

"_Will you tell me your secrets and open my eyes,_" she suddenly sang to herself. "_Or will you just leave me here surrounded by lies?_"

Audrey wasn't entirely sure who or what she was singing to. The trees? The stumps?

The past?

"_Are things really perfect like we've always been told?_  
><em>Or is there something better that we don't know?<em>

_I wanna know what went on out there_  
><em>Was it always so dark and dead?<em>  
><em>Or was there once something more beautiful<em>  
><em>That we just can't comprehend?<em>

_I've gotta know what went on out there!_  
><em>What is dead, but once used to live?<em>  
><em>Was it big? Was it bright? Was it magical?<em>  
><em>And why won't anyone talk about it?<em>

_Tell me your secrets and open my eyes_  
><em>And please don't just leave me here surrounded by lies.<em>  
><em>I know things aren't perfect like we've always been told<em>  
><em>There's something much better that we don't know.<em>

_But we don't know…_"

* * *

><p>Jenni stood in the corner of the quad, waiting for Audrey to show up so that they could walk home together. She noticed a couple of kids pointing at her and snickering, and she wished her friend would hurry up. What was taking her so long?<p>

_Probably asking around about trees again,_ Jenni thought angrily. _What's her problem, anyway? Can't she see that we're standing out?_ Jenni gulped, a sudden creepy feeling crawling up her back, and terrifying memories threatening to worm their way back into her mind. She quickly shook them away.

Where _was_ Audrey?

At that moment, the two kids who had been talking and laughing walked aggressively toward Jenni. She tired to ignore them, but it proved to be impossible.

"Hey," said one of the kids, a tall older girl with a large build. "Your name is Jenni, right?"

"Y-yeah…" Jenni responded hesitantly. "Why?"

"We just wanted to ask you, why are you friends with the tree freak girl?"

Jenni froze. "Why…um…"

"Dude," the other kid, a skinny young boy, piped up, "It's cause _she's_ a tree freak too!"

"What? No! I'm not!"

"Then why do you hang around with her?" the tall girl inquired. "Or, better yet, why is _she_ so obsessed with trees? That's just_weird._"

_Weird._ The word caused Jenni to turn pale.

"Hey, isn't that the same Audrey that tried to, like, jump over the Wall or something?" the boy cut in. "She really is crazy!"

_Crazy._

The tall girl laughed before turning back to Jenni. "So, what? What's the deal with you guys, exactly? Are you _really_ friends with that girl?"

"I-I-I…."

"Are _you_ a tree freak too?"

This statement quickly caught the attention of several students who were standing around them.

"_Another_ tree freak?" someone called. "Those people are everywhere now!"

More voices joined in.

"What a bunch of weirdos."

"Jenni's a tree freak too?"

"You mean Jen-_tree!_"

"Freaks."

_Freak. Weirdo._ The horrible words bombarded Audrey like rocks. She felt her world spinning with each taunt, and it felt like the other kids were closing in around her, and there was no escape…

_Crazy. Strange._

They kept coming. Jenni's heart was pounding. She couldn't breathe.

_Not normal._

"_Stop it!_" she shrieked suddenly. "I'm not a tree freak! She's not my friend!"

_What?_ That was not right. Jenni hardly knew what she was saying anymore, but she found herself continuing.

"I only hung out with her to make her feel better! But she's just a freak! _She's_ the freak! Not me!"

Everything was quiet. Jenni breathed heavily, trying to calm herself, when suddenly someone whispered, "Busted…"

"…Jenni?"

The brunette tensed up at the sound of her best friend's voice. Slowly, she turned to see Audrey standing there frozen, a look of sheer heartbreak on her face.

Jenni opened her mouth to say something. But nothing came out.

And just like that. Audrey was gone.

* * *

><p>She felt numb as she walked home, tears in her eyes, but she didn't care. <em>How could she do that?<em> Audrey thought. _We've been best friends for years…_

Audrey barely heard her mom's greeting at the door as she walked robotically up to her room. Flopping on her bed, she felt the stinging tears of betrayal finally flood out of her eyes. She turned over onto her stomach and buried her head in her pillow.

"I'm a freak," the young girl wailed. "They're right about me. I should just stop." Audrey continued to cry into her pillow as her thoughts swirled. Why had this happened to her? All she wanted was to find out what had happened to the tree! Why was that so bad?

Were they right? Did trees really matter at all? Was her gramma really just crazy? Audrey didn't know. Nothing made sense anymore.

She cried until she could cry no more. After that she just lay there, confused, betrayed, numb. After what seemed like an eternity, Audrey heard her mother's voice from downstairs.

"Audrey! Can you come down here please?"

"Leave me alone, mom!" Audrey snapped back.

"_Audrey!_ Get down here right _now!_"

Audrey grumbled to herself and dragged her body out of bed. As she descended down the stairs, she prepared herself for a long fight with her mother, but she was taken aback by what she saw instead.

Two huge men in black suits who seemed to be larger than life stood looming in her living room. They stared at her with eyes hidden behind sunglasses, their gaze seeming to burn a hole right through her. Between the men, Mr. O'Hare himself was seating on their couch, smiling and relaxing as if he were in his own home.

Audrey blinked. What was going on?

Her mother quickly introduced the two of them, and Mr. O'Hare got up and politely shook Audrey's hand.

"Good to meet you, Audrey," Mr. O'Hare said cheerfully. Then he frowned. "Why, what's the matter? You look like you've been crying."

Audrey looked at the floor. Her mother quickly jumped in. "Oh, you know how children are, Mr. O'Hare," she chuckled nervously. "So emotional. Audrey, why don't you go back upstairs now?"

"No, no, it's alright," Mr. O'Hare cut in. "Why don't you go make us some coffee or something? I'll just be chatting with Audrey here."

Audrey's mom looked surprised for a moment, but then she smiled and headed nervously toward the kitchen. "Uh, sure…" she said. "Um, how do you like your coffee…?"

"Black," Mr. O'Hare responded abruptly. Then he paused for a moment and reconsidered it. "Actually, a hint of sugar and cream would be nice."

Audrey's mom nodded and disappeared into the kitchen.

As soon as she was gone, O'Hare turned back to Audrey with his winning smile still plastered on his face. "All right, let's get down to business," the short man began. "Have a seat, Audrey, and let's talk."

Audrey did as she was told, glancing cautiously up at Mr. O'Hare's two goons.

"Now, Audrey," Mr. O'Hare continued. "I've noticed that you've developed a rather…_obsessive_ interest in trees lately, is that right?"

Audrey was surprised. "H-How did you know?"

Mr. O'Hare shrugged. "I have my ways," he answered simply. "Anyway, I know it's probably frustrating, not finding the answers you want, but you see, there's a reason we don't talk about trees in this Town."

As he spoke, Mr. O'Hare paced around, making broad gestures with his arms, until he was standing face to face with Audrey. "Trees cause nothing but misery," he went on. "They were dirty and useless, and they got in everyone's way! They caused fights to break out all the time, it was a mess!" The man paused and looked at Audrey compassionately. "You've struggled with that misery too, haven't you?"

Audrey looked up.

"You've been called a freak by your classmates," Mr. O'Hare observed. "You've been outcasted and mocked…you've even lost a friend, haven't you?"

Audrey's body tensed up as she tried to stop the tears from coming back. "Y-yeah…" she choked. "I-I had no idea she would…I-I mean we were friends, and…"

"I understand," said Mr. O'Hare softly. He placed a hand on Audrey's shoulder. "It's hard, isn't it? Even the mere mention of trees causes problems to arise. Now, think about it Audrey, are a bunch of dead trees really worth all this?"

Audrey paused and shrugged. "I…I just wanted to know…"

"Oh, Audrey, it doesn't matter. You're losing everything you _have_ for something that will _never_ come back. Now, that's not a very good choice, is it?"

Audrey paused again, then shook her head slowly. "No."

"No, no it isn't." Mr. O'Hare patted her shoulder before standing up straight and looking at her sternly. "Listen, Audrey. As mayor of Thneedville, it's my job to make sure that everything stays perfect. So, I think it would be best for everyone if you never spoke about trees again, _ever._ Just delete them from your mind completely. Understand?"

Audrey did not respond as she mulled over Mr. O'Hare's words.

"_Understand,_ Audrey?"

The man's angry growl snapped her out of her trance. Audrey rubbed some stray tears from her eyes and finally nodded weakly. "…Ok."

Mr. O'Hare smiled again. "Excellent." He said proudly. "Your life will get better soon, you'll see." He then turned, gestured to his two goons, and headed toward the door.

At that moment, Audrey's mom finally appeared with a cup of coffee. "Oh," she said n surprise. "Leaving so soon…?"

"Yes, well, duty calls," Mr. O'Hare responded pleasantly. He took the mug from the woman's hands and stepped out of the house. "I'll bring the mug back tomorrow."

And then they were gone, just as suddenly as they had come.

Audrey's mom stood stunned for a moment, until she noticed her daughter stand up sullenly and walk over to the stairs.

"Audrey…" her mom said. "Are you alright?"

Audrey didn't look up. "I'm fine." The girl walked groggily up the stairs and into her room.

Mr. O'Hare was right. None of this was worth it. It would be better if she just kept quiet.

Audrey did not go see her gramma that weekend.


	3. Revival

**A/N: So, this chapter was turning out a little short, so I decided to make it a little educational. /shot XDDD **

**Not my favorite chapter tbh, but I think it works. Enjoy! **

* * *

><p>Audrey's life did indeed get better. For the next few years she stopped thinking about trees completely. At first the children at her school were disappointed about not having a tree freak to tease, but as the year dragged on they soon forgot about it. Audrey had even tried to reconnect with Jenni, but for some reason, her old friend always seemed to avoid her. Audrey was annoyed about this at first but didn't really blame her. After all, she had been the one to drag Jenni into the whole ordeal.<p>

Throughout her middle school years there were vague mentions of that phase, usually met with lighthearted laughter, and by the time she was in high school it was all but forgotten.

Trees, too, had been forgotten. While Audrey could not fully enjoy the bliss of Thneedville like she had five years ago, she didn't let it bother her. She knew that as long as she kept silent, everything would be fine. She had studies to focus on, anyway. Finals were coming up soon, after all. And today, the now 15-year-old Audrey lay sprawled out on her backyard lawn, surrounded by books. She was not taking any chances with these finals.

Audrey yawned and brushed her long red hair out of the way. Lifting up one of her books, she turned over onto her back, trying to get into a more comfortable position. Instead, Audrey found herself staring right into Thneedville's artificial sun. Groaning, she let the open book fall on her face.

"Ugh, it's so _bright_ out here," Audrey complained aloud to nobody. "Room too stuffy, don't want to go back inside…" the teenager paused for a moment, then remembered something. "Gotta go to the library and get more books…" she blurbed, once again to no one. It was a habit she had developed over the years. "Too lazy…" Audrey lay there for a moment, the book still open on her face, when suddenly she heard the sound of a hollow bouncing coming from behind her.

Audrey lifted up the book and turned curiously toward the noise to see Ted's red bouncy ball rolling slowly across her lawn. Audrey sighed in amusement and sat up straight.

"Three…two…one…"

The doorbell rang.

Audrey chuckled a little, gathered up her books and walked into her house. The doorbell rang several more times before she could get across her living room.

"I'm coming!" Audrey called out. "Hold your horses!"

With her free hand, Audrey opened the door with a smile. As expected, there was Ted, standing with his finger pressed against the doorbell. When he saw Audrey, the young boy quickly stood up straight and smiled goofily.

"Ted!" Audrey greeted with fake surprise. She leaned against the door frame and grinned. "What a surprise."

Ted smiled sheepishly and looked down at his feet. "Hey Audrey, uh…my ball landed in your backyard again. Can I go get it?"

Audrey chuckled. "Of course."

Audrey watched as Ted jogged into her backyard, picked up the ball and came back. He didn't go out the door right away. Instead he stood in front of Audrey with his smile still on his face, twirling the bouncy ball in his hands.

"So…you've got books," Ted observed. "Are you going somewhere?"

Audrey nodded. "Yep, to the library. Gotta study for finals, you know."

"Oh, what a coincidence," Ted replied smoothly. "I just happen to be on my way to the library too."

Audrey raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Really? Then why were you playing ball?"

Ted glanced down at the ball in his hands and blushed, making Audrey laugh a little. "I-I just…" he stammered, "I-I like to play ball before I…study…"

Audrey laughed some more. "Oh, alright," she told him, "I'll let you tag along."

"Yes!" cried Ted, pumping his fist in the air. Then he paused and quickly composed himself. "I mean…yea, that's cool. Yeah."

Audrey giggled and turned to leave. As they walked out of the house she could practically hear Ted mentally slapping himself.

How adorable.

The two of them walked the town, talking and laughing along the way. When they reached the library Ted set his ball by the door and helped Audrey find the books that she needed. Eventually they sat down at a table and Audrey dove into her studying. She had been right about the library. It was quiet and calm, the perfect atmosphere for studying. The only problem was Ted. Now that Audrey was occupied, he had nothing to do except sit and fidget uncomfortably in his chair.

Audrey smiled at him. "If you're bored, why don't you grab a book?"

Ted jumped up, embarrassed. "Oh yeah! Yeah, I was…I was just going to." With that he hurried off, leaving Audrey alone.

The hours dragged by, and eventually Audrey needed a break from studying. Ted had gone through a couple of books himself, but eventually he got tired of reading and had resorted to wandering aimlessly through the library. As Audrey stood up and stretched, she heard Ted's voice calling her from a few feet away.

"Hey Audrey! Come check this out."

Audrey walked over to him, and she saw Ted holding open the cloth door to the dark room. Audrey smiled, remembering the first time she had stumbled upon this room so many years ago. "I remember this place," she said. "It used to terrify me as a kid."

"I've never seen it before," Ted replied. "What's inside?"

Audrey shrugged. "No idea. I was always too scared to go in."

A devious smirk crossed Ted's face. "Let's go check it out," he said, and took a small step inside before Audrey grabbed his arm.

"Wait!" the teenage girl called. "I don't think we're allowed to be in there…"

A couple feet away a librarian overheard their conversation. "Don't worry kids," she told them with a smile, "It's pretty dusty in there, but it's harmless."

"Can we go check out what's inside?" Ted piped up.

"Sure, why not? It's going to be demolished soon, so you may as well check it out before it's gone."

"Cool! Come on, Audrey!" Ted darted into the dark room, then he noticed that Audrey was hesitating and stopped. "What's the matter?" he asked. "You're not still scared, are you?"

"Who, me?" Audrey scoffed. "No, of course not." She had to admit it was still a little creepy, but she was practically a grown woman now. She couldn't be scared. Taking a breath, she stepped inside and looked around.

There were more shelves in here, and they were covered with books that looked like they hadn't been touched in decades. Audrey coughed a little from the dust and squinted to see in the dark. A small old-fashioned light bulb hung from the ceiling and dimly illuminated the room. It wasn't enough, so the two took out their phones and used then as flashlights.

Ted picked up a book. "Ick," he said in disgust. "Everything in here is falling apart." The boy opened up the book in his hands and all the pages fell out in a pile on the floor. Leaving them there, he quickly put the empty binding back on the shelf. It was going to be destroyed anyway.

Audrey walked over to another shelf and pushed the books aside, causing a cloud of dust fly in her face and send her into a fit of coughs.

Ted looked over at Audrey in concern, but she soon stopped coughing and he relaxed. "Ah, there's nothing interesting in here," he complained. "Come on, Audrey, let's go."

Ted started to leave. Audrey started to follow him, when something caught her eye. On the shelf where she had shoved the books aside, a bright yellow pamphlet lay against a larger textbook, and it had a single word written at the top.

_Trees._

As if on instinct, Audrey pressed herself up against the shelf and grabbed the pamphlet. A small gasp escaped her lips as she shined her flashlight phone on it.

_A Guide to Trees,_ it read. _Everything you need to know about our best friends in nature._ On the cover there was a picture of what Audrey assumed was a real tree, but it didn't look like the plastic trees that were seen around Thneedville. This one was thin and striped, and it looked like it had a large ball of fluff at the top.

Audrey smiled widely with glee as she started at the cover, the excitement that she had felt so many years ago flooding back into her. All this time, the answers were right here! Why hadn't she thought of this sooner?"

"Audrey?"

At Ted's voice, Audrey snapped back into the present. She turned back to him in surprise.

"What are you doing?" Ted asked curiously. "Did you find something?"

Audrey hesitated and stared back at the pamphlet in her hand. "Um…I think so."

_Put it back,_ she thought to herself. _Put it back on the shelf! Trees are trouble, remember?_ That is what she had believed for years. And yet, she found that she was unable to let go. What was written in that old, fragile piece of paper? What secrets did it hold?

"What did you find?" she heard Ted ask. "Can I see?"

"No!" Audrey quickly hid the pamphlet behind her back, fidgeting a little. "I mean…I thought I saw something, but it was nothing."

"…Are you ok?"

"Yeah totally! Never been better!"

Ted paused for a moment and shrugged, heading to the door again. Audrey continued holding on tightly to the pamphlet. _Put it back!_ her mind yelled at her. _It doesn't matter what's in there! Just put it back and you will be fine!_

Audrey did not put it back. She walked toward the cloth door.

_Put it back!_ her inner voice pressured. _It will only hurt you!_

Audrey was back in the library. The pamphlet was still in her hands. Every conscious fiber in her body was screaming for her to get rid of it, but she found herself continuing forward. She reached the table, opened up a book, and hid the pamphlet inside. Her heart was pounding. What was she getting herself into?

"Uh, Audrey?" Ted inquired. "Are you sure you're ok? You look kinda pale."

Audrey blinked and stood up, trying to get her thoughts together. "Y-Yeah…um, I just remembered something important that I need to do at home," she quickly gathered up her books from the table, placing the book with the hidden pamphlet on top. "So, I'm going to have to cut this short."

Ted looked surprised and a little disappointed. "Oh, ok. But, don't forget to check out those new books!"

Audrey stopped walking and glanced nervously down at the top book. Slowly and cautiously, she approached the librarian behind the desk. "U-um…" she stammered. "I need to check these out…"

Audrey held her breath as the librarian picked up the top book and slid it across the scanner. The librarian did not seem to notice anything amiss, and the book passed through the checkout with no complications.

Audrey sighed with relief. She waited until the other books got checked out and dashed out of the library.

"Sorry I gotta leave you, Ted!" she called hastily. "I'll see you later!"

"Ok!" Ted called back. "Buh-bye!" But by that moment Audrey had disappeared, leaving Ted to wonder what on earth had gotten into her.

As soon as Audrey got home, she dashed up the stairs and sat on her bed, holding the pamphlet in her hands. She sat still for a moment. _Should I be doing this?_ she thought. Audrey could very well remember what had happened the last time she had talked about trees. Everything had gone awry. She couldn't bear to lose any of her current friends the way she had lost Jenni. But on the other hand, this was her last chance. Her gramma had passed away two years ago, and certainly nobody else would give her information. She could read the pamphlet and step back into that dicey territory, or she could get rid of it and forget about trees forever, just as she had been doing for the last five years.

It seemed wiser to throw it away, but something inside of Audrey was telling her to open the pamphlet and read it. _Maybe just a little peek…_ the girl thought. Hands shaking, heart pounding, Audrey opened the fragile pamphlet…and let herself get absorbed in the information.

_Have you ever wondered how a tree grows?_ the pamphlet read. /iHave you ever wondered what its leaves do, or how a tree makes air?/i

Audrey paused and blinked in surprise. _Air?_ Trees made _air?_ She read the last line again.

_Trees made air._

Audrey set the pamphlet down and tries to process it. No way. It was impossible.

Trees made air.

O'Hare made air.

Trees were gone.

O'Hare did not want anyone to know about them.

The conclusion was obvious, but Audrey did not believe it just yet. She picked up the pamphlet and read on.

_All living things are made of cells. Cells are so small that you need a microscope to see them._

Audrey nodded herself. She learned about cells in school.

_Humans and animals are made of animal cells, while plants, including trees, are built up out of plant cells. Plant cells and animal cells are very similar, but plant cells have a few things that animal cells do not. First, they have a strong cell wall, which allows them to be sturdy and strong. Second, the cells contain chloroplasts. Chloroplasts are small green organelles (organelles are the parts of a cell), which allow plants to perform photosynthesis._

_Photo-what-what?_ Audrey read the word again, sounding it out quietly. She scanned the rest of the page for the word again, an skipped to another part of the pamphlet.

_When you breathe in, you take in a certain type of air called oxygen. Oxygen is very important for out bodies. When you exhale, the air that comes out is not oxygen, it is carbon dioxide. Humans and animals cannot breathe in carbon dioxide, but plants can! They breathe in the carbon dioxide, and along with water and sunshine, they turn it into oxygen! Plants also create glucose, which is the energy you get from your food. The process that plants use to make oxygen and glucose is called photosynthesis._

Audrey suddenly laughed. Everything made perfect sense now! She buried her head in the pillow and laughed hysterically some more. Of course. There was no way around it now. O'Hare was not hiding trees to keep Thneedville safe. He was hiding them because they did exactly what he did…for free!

And now, she was the only other person in town who knew about this.

Audrey lifted her head from the pillow and read on. She read about ecosystems, and learned about _carnivores_ and _herbivores_and _omnivores_-which is what humans were supposed to be before they switched to gelatin. Audrey grimaced at the thought.

She read about all different kinds of trees. Oak trees. Pine trees. Redwood trees. Apple trees, orange trees, lemon trees…her personal favorite, however, was the truffula tree, the same type of tree that was shown on the cover. Truffula trees didn't have leaves. They performed photosynthesis through the brightly colored tufts at the top. They almost looked like giant cotton candy sticks! The thought made Audrey smile.

When she was done with the pamphlet, she flipped it to the beginning and read it again. And again. And again. Studying all but escaped her mind.

Eventually, her eyes got tired from all the reading. But Audrey didn't want to stop thinking about the trees. So she instead pulled some of her empty canvases and her paints from out of her closet, and she started to paint. For the rest of evening she painted trees, all kinds of trees, but mostly truffula trees. Audrey did not remember the last time she had been so lost in bliss. She completely lost track of the time until her mother called her downstairs for dinner.

Even while she was eating, she didn't stop thinking about them. They were…so beautiful, just like her gramma had said. What had _happened_ to them? That was the one thing the pamphlet didn't tell her.

After dinner, Audrey wandered into her backyard, wondering what she would do with her newfound knowledge. Would she tell everyone? Of course, they all deserved to know that they were being tricked their whole lives.

But really, who would believe her? O'Hare would probably find some way to shut her up again. Audrey shuddered at the thought and frowned. No. She would kept his to herself for now. But she still needed _some_ way to express herself. She couldn't keep it cooped up inside her, and she only had so many canvases to paint on.

Audrey sighed and turned back to her house, about to go inside. Then she stopped. An idea suddenly hit her as she looked at her tall-two story home. She smiled. Maybe she didn't need too many canvases.

After all, the back of her house was awfully bare…

* * *

><p>"Audrey, why don't you ever let me in your backyard anymore?" Ted pouted on the porch step as Audrey hastily handed him his ball. "What's going on back there, anyway?"<p>

Audrey gave her friend a tired smile. "Sorry, Tedster. But I'm working on something back there, I can't let you see it." She started to close the door, but Ted stopped her.

"Can I see it when it's done?"

Audrey stopped for a moment. She couldn't let Ted see it. She had sworn to stay quiet about the matter. "Um…no."

"Aw, come on! Please?"

Audrey frowned as she stared into Ted's big brown eyes. It was obvious he wouldn't leave until she said yes.

"Alright, fine," she finally sighed. "I'll let you see it when it's done."

"Awesome! See you later, Audrey."

Audrey nodded and closed the door behind him. What had she just done? She couldn't let Ted see her mural! What would he do when he saw it? Would he find it strange?

Audrey sighed for what seemed like the millionth time that day and headed into her backyard. Grabbing her supplies, she climbed up her ladder and continued to work on a tall pink truffula tree. Eventually, the smooth motions of the painting calmed her down.

_Oh well, _Audrey thought to herself, _It's nowhere near done, anyway. I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get to it…_

With that, she pushed the thought of Ted out of her brain and quickly lost herself in the painting.


	4. Release

**A/N: So, this chapter was a little tricky, since this is where it merges with the events of the movie. XD I also tried something a little different with the narration near the end...hopefully it worked. And now, here's the last chapter of Silenced. Enjoy! **

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><p>As the summer dragged on, Audrey's painting gradually grew larger and more elaborate. Her parents often grumbled about all the money she spent on paint, but generally they weren't around much to stop her. Each day, as her painting grew, Audrey wondered more and more over what to do about Ted. She'd been hoping that the boy would just forget about it eventually, but every time he came over she had to come up with some excuse to keep him out of her backyard, and he would become more curious.<p>

Audrey was beginning to get a little desperate. How would she tell Ted no? What if Ted ran out and looked at it anyway? What would he think? Would he find it weird or creepy? What would she do?

Audrey tried not to think about it as she painted, but eventually, it was done. On the day that she finished she lay down on the grass like she always did, admiring her work and wondering what to do next.

_Maybe I should just show Ted,_ she thought. _Who knows? Maybe he'll like it. And if Ted likes it, maybe he'll show his friends, and then his friends will like it and it will spread around and O'Hare will finally be exposed as a big fat liar and—_

Audrey shook her head quickly. She was getting way ahead of herself. But…maybe she _should_ show Ted. After all, it would be wrong to keep something so beautiful a secret. Even if O'Hare didn't want her spreading it around, it couldn't hurt to share a secret with a friend, right? The boy had a crush on her anyway, so how bad could it be?

She made her decision. She would tell Ted the next day.

She could bear to break the silence a little.

* * *

><p>"Did you ball land in my backyard <em>again?<em>"

"What? No…" Ted chuckled nervously. "A model airplane this time…"

Audrey laughed. The poor boy just didn't realize how desperate he was. But, no matter. There was something more important on her mind. "Hey," she said, lowering her voice. "Do you wanna see something cool?"

Without waiting for him to answer, she gestured for him to follow her. Ted lingered on the doorstep a moment longer and stepped inside her house. "Are you going to show me that thing you've been working on now?" he asked eagerly.

Audrey nodded. As she reached her hand out to open the back door, however, she noticed that her heart was pounding for some reason. She took a deep breath to calm herself down and turned back to Ted. "Actually, maybe it would be even better if it was a _total_ surprise," she said. "So maybe you should close your eyes."

Ted frowned. "But…how will I see where I'm going?"

"Don't worry, I'll guide you!" Audrey opened the door, then stood behind Ted and covered his eyes with her hands. "Just…go forward and I'll tell you when to turn."

"Ok," Ted smiled widely and did as she said. Audrey guided him out to the yard until he was standing directly in front of her mural. She glanced up at her painting once more. _No turning back now…_ she thought, and uncovered Ted's eyes.

The boy's eyes widened. "Whooooaaa…" he stood there for a moment, entranced by her mural, and slowly reached out to touch it. "Did…you paint this?" he asked in amazement.

Audrey's heart was in her throat. "Do you like it?" she asked nervously.

"Are you _kidding?_ This is _amazing!_"

_Amazing!_ He thought it was amazing! Not weird! Audrey felt the relief flood through her whole body as she watched her little friend admire her work.

Ted turned to her, eyes still wide as dinner plates. "What _are_ those?"

"Those are _trees!_" Audrey squealed, grabbing Ted's hands in delight. The little girl inside of her suddenly sprang back to life again as she poured her heart out, describing the amazing things that she had learned about these beautiful, long-lost organisms to Ted, who only half-understood the things she was saying. Audrey, in her pure excitement, flipped Ted over to lay on his back next to her. This probably hurt the poor boy, but Audrey was too caught up in bliss to notice. She could barely believe that she had found someone who would listen.

"What I want more than anything," she began, "In the whole world is to see a real, _living_ tree. Growing in my backyard!"

There. She said it. The thing that she had been keeping to herself for so long, she had finally said it. And boy, did it feel great.

She realized that Ted was saying something and tuned in to listen.

"…if a guy somehow got you one…." He was saying.

"Well, I'd probably marry him on the spot!" she exclaimed automatically. Then she stopped. She didn't want to sound _too_obsessed. " I-I bet that sounds crazy. Does that sound crazy?"

"No, not crazy. Not crazy at all."

Audrey nodded, once again relieved. She wasn't sure if Ted genuinely liked her mural or if he was just being nice, but either way she was glad she had told him. Audrey did not know how much longer she could have survived keeping the whole thing a secret.

But she wasn't done yet. Audrey turned to Ted once more with a serious look on her face. "Listen, Ted…you can't tell anyone about this, ok?"

Ted looked confused. "Why not?"

"Because…" Audrey bit her lip and searched for the right words. "There are just people out there who don't like it when we talk about trees."

"Really? I like it just fine."

Audrey sighed. _You poor, ignorant, lovestruck little boy._

"Yeah, well, there are people who don't," Audrey insisted. "So, please, Ted. For me. Promise you won't tell."

"Ok, Audrey. I promise."

Audrey looked up at the sky and nodded. Ted mumbled something under his breath but she didn't quite catch it. It didn't matter. Just as long as he didn't tell, it was fine.

Ted had to leave pretty quickly afterward. Audrey remained where she was, still staring up at her mural. _I could add a few more,_ she though idly. _But maybe in a couple of days._

For some reason he felt exhausted. Maybe it was because of the days she had spent painting, or the emotional experience she just went through. She only hoped that all of this was worth it.

As the day wore on, Audrey eventually got up and went inside. She flopped herself down on the living room sofa and fervently hoped she had done the right thing.

* * *

><p>Ted did not come to see her for two days.<p>

Audrey knew it was probably nothing, he was most likely just busy, but somehow she couldn't help but worry a little Two days was a long time for Ted not to show up at her doorstep. Maybe he had gone home and decided that she was weird after all.

Audrey sighed to herself as she lay around in her backyard once again. Ah, it didn't matter much. Besides, she didn't even know if it was true and it was probably best not to jump to conclusions, no matter what her paranoid mind told her.

Audrey gazed up at her mural and remembered how she had wanted to paint a few more trees. Maybe painting would get her mind off of the issue. When she went to get her supplies, however, she realized that she was all out of blue and pink paint. Grumbling to herself, she took one final look at her mural and headed off to the hobby store to buy more paint.

Thneedville was blissfully bustling as usual. People were humming and singing little tunes as they went, and many of them were crowding around stores to buy whatever was new and exciting at the moment. Over the movie theater Audrey spotted a billboard advertising the new Oak-a-Matic tree. She scoffed and shook her head in amusement. Would things ever change?

As Audrey neared the hobby shop, she excitedly began to imagine all the new trees she would add to her mural. Maybe a red one in the back, and maybe a fluffy yellow one off to the side…

"Hey, Audrey!"

Audrey blinked in surprise when she heard someone call her name. Turning to the voice, she felt a smile cross her face. It was Ted!

Audrey greeted him back with an inward sigh of relief. He hadn't been avoiding her after all. Audrey tried to start a conversation with him, to see where he'd been, when suddenly Ted's gramma popped up out of nowhere and plopped herself down on his scooter.

"Oh! Is this the girl you're always talking about?" Ted's gramma asked enthusiastically.

"Wha—gramma!" Ted exclaimed, trying to drown her out with his scooter's engine. "Stop making things up! Gotta run, bye!" He quickly sped off before Audrey could say anything more.

Audrey watched her friend go with an amused smile. He hadn't changed at all. Looks like she had been worried about nothing.

"I mean, it's not like he would just disappear like that," Audrey mumbled to her self as she walked through the hobby store. "He's just busy, that's all. He's gone a life outside of me, duh. Audrey turned into the arts and crafts aisle, still talking to herself. "I mean, it's not like every friend I'm ever going to have is going to be like…Jenni?"

Audrey nearly dropped her paint cans. She hardly recognized her, it had been so long. Her hair was shorter and hung loosely down her neck, but her clothes were still as colorful as ever. Judging by the look on her face and the way she straightened up when she saw Audrey, Jenni had not been expecting to bump into her either.

A moment of uncomfortable silence passed between them. Audrey wanted to say something, to greet her, to ask her questions, but her mind was drawing a blank.

In a seemingly calm and graceful manner, Jenni reached out to one of the shelves and grabbed a long wooden board. Tucking it under her arm, she nodded nonchalantly at her former friend. "Audrey," she mumbled, her voice barely audible. Then she turned and walked out of the aisle without another word.

Audrey lingered in the aisle a moment longer, frowning in confusion and frustration. What was Jenni's problem, exactly? Was she really still upset about what had happened five years ago?

As Audrey trudged down the street back to her house, she thought about it some more. "That whole incident was _her_ fault," she griped to herself. "_She's_ got nothing to be upset about." Slowing down, Audrey bit her lip and reconsidered. "Then again, she did warn me," the girl murmured. "And I'm the one who caused her to be humiliated and bullied…" Audrey sighed and shook her head. It didn't matter. That was a long time ago. Right now, she had a painting to focus on.

As she neared her home, Audrey tried once more to lose herself in the thought of trees. After a moment she relaxed again. And she turned into her backyard, a smile on her face, ready to begin.

What she saw instead made her heart stop.

Her mural was gone. Every truffula tree, every brushstroke that she had poured her heart into this whole summer, had been crudely painted over in a thick layer of grey, to the point where one couldn't even tell what had been there before. At the very top, painted in thick black letters, were the words: "Courtesy of O'Hare Inc."

Audrey dropped her paint cans as it finally dawned on her what had happened.

She had not been silent enough.

Breath heavy, tears building up in her eyes, Audrey darted into her house and up into her room. Once she slammed the door she grabbed a pillow and screamed into it with rage, kicking over her canvases of tree paintings. "Trees bring nothing but misery!" she spat as she stomped on her precious pieces of art. "Of course they do! But only because _you_ make them that way!" Audrey spotted a billboard outside her house with O'Hare's face on it and pointed accusingly at it from behind her window. "_You_cause nothing but misery, you…you…you liar! You manipulative…greedy…"

Audrey trailed off, flopping herself down on her bed. None of it mattered. She could yell all she wanted to, nobody would be able to hear her from here. Audrey tossed her arms to her side in defeat, when her hand rubbed against a cold piece of paper. Audrey picked it up and scowled at it.

It was the pamphlet. The one that had given Audrey her passion back. The one that she had been reading every night and had practically memorized. The pamphlet that Audrey had thought would be the answer to her problem.

She tore it in half.

Then she tore it into quarters. Then into eighths. And then she let the pieces float to the floor like confetti.

And she cried.

It was over.

* * *

><p>Audrey wasn't sure how many hours she had spent cooped up in her room before finally going downstairs. Her parents weren't home, which was no surprise, and the house was completely silent. Audrey stood by the window in her living room, staring blankly out into the street. She sighed. She only wished she had someone to talk to, but nobody would understand her predicament except for…<p>

As if on cue, Ted suddenly came riding down the street with his scooter, heading straight toward Audrey's house.

The girl grinned, genuinely happy to see him from her window. But something was wrong. Ted was not stopping. Instead he rode around in circles on the street in front of her yard, frantically calling out her name.

Confused, Audrey opened the door and stepped out. "Ted? What are you—,"

"Meet me at my house!" the boy interrupted her, not noticing the distressed look on her face.

"W-wait, but…" Audrey began.

"_My house,_ ok?" And with that he sped off and disappeared behind his own home, leaving Audrey stunned.

"B-but I need to talk…" she murmured sadly. What was wrong with Ted? This was completely unlike him. But, it sounded like he had something very urgent to tell her, so she stepped off the porch toward her friend's house next door.

But before she could get very far, another vehicle zoomed past her and parked in front of Ted's house. It was an O'Hare van.

Without a second thought, Audrey dashed back into her own house and slammed the door. Peeking from the window once more, she watched as the Mayor, along with the two large men he always had with him, step out of the van and into Ted's house.

Audrey took a deep, shaky breath. She couldn't go now. Whatever business O'Hare had with Ted's family, she hoped it would be quick.

Audrey sat under the window for what felt like an eternity, occasionally glancing out the window to see if anything had changed. Finally, it appeared that the meeting was over. The van was still in front of Ted's home, but now one of O'Hare's bodyguards was sitting in it with a newspaper, while the patrol blimp was floating in the sky just a little way off.

O'Hare hadn't left, but he was now out of Ted's house, so it was relatively safe for her to go. As she nervously stepped out of her house again, Audrey did her best to smile, like it was just another perfect day in Thneedville and nothing was amiss. In reality, Audrey had no idea what was going on, but Ted had seemed serious, and she couldn't just ignore him.

She run Ted's doorbell, trying not to look suspicious. She was fully aware that O'Hare's goon in the van was watching her closely from behind his newspaper. Ted seemed to notice it too, and he pulled her into his house before she could even ask him what was happening.

Now in the safety of the house, Audrey let her act drop. "Ted, what is this about?"

Ted cautiously closed the curtain to the living room window and turned to Audrey with a look of wonder in his eyes. "It's about_this._" At these words, he held up a small object that made Audrey nearly choke on her spit.

It was small and round, with light chocolate colored swirls spiraling out from its center. At the top of it was a crack, and out grew a tiny green stem.

Audrey could not believe her eyes. "W-wait…I-is that…?"

"Yes, the _last_ Truffula seed," Ted told her, placing the beautiful plant in Audrey's hands. "And you're going to help me plant it in the middle of town, where _everyone_ can see it."

Where _everyone_ can see it. Audrey still couldn't believe it. She had no idea _where_ or _how_ Ted had gotten the seed, but that didn't matter. It was _here._ It was really _here!_ The very thing that she had been dreaming to see for so long, it was right here, _in her hands._

Audrey was overwhelmed with joy. "I could just kiss you right now!" she squealed.

Ted smiled, perhaps a little too widely, while Audrey continued to gaze in delight at the seed. She couldn't believe it. It wasn't over. There was hope after all.

But, they were not done yet. Glancing cautiously outside at O'Hare's vane, the four of them , Ted, Audrey, and Ted's mother and gramma, wondered how on earth they would be able to get the seed planted without O'Hare noticing.

"We're gonna need a plan," Mrs. Wiggins declared. "I have an idea—I'll go out with the car and get the van to follow me, and then you guys go out with the seed on Ted's scooter."

Ted grinned. "Good thinking, mom. You can go out now, and we'll follow you in a minute."

Mrs. Wiggins frowned. "Hold on, I can't go yet," she said. "You have to help me make a Fake Ted."

The boy stared back at his mother incredulously. "A _Fake Ted?_ What for?"

"Oh, come on, Ted! If I'm gonna be a decoy, I need to be a convincing one. They won't follow me unless they think you're in the car with me."

"But a _Fake Ted,_ mom? We don't have time for—."

"Ah, quit your whining. They'll wait out there forever if they have to. Now come and help me find something we can use for your head."

Ted groaned, but he followed his mother out of the room. Audrey giggled a little bit, but her mind was still focused solely on the small seed in her hands. She looked down at it, smiling warmly, and gently touched it with her finger. She could practically felt he life flowing through it, and she felt like crying. Only a few hours ago she thought she would never be able to even think about trees again. And now here she was, not only thinking about them but holding on in her hands. It was the best day of her life. Ted had come through for her.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Audrey jumped slightly at the sound of Ted's gramma's voice, but she nodded. "Yeah," she whispered. "I-I've wanted to see one for a long time, b-but…I haven't been able to talk to anyone about them…"

"Really?" The old woman leaned on her came. "Well, why didn't you come ask me? I could have told you everything. "

Audrey blinked. "Oh!" Of course, why hadn't she thought of it sooner? Ted's gramma was probably as much about trees as her own gramma had. How stupid could she be?

Before she could say more, Ted came jogging back into the room. "Ok," he said, out of breath. "While my mom's working on her decoy Ted, let's review out plan for the seed…"

"Ted, wait," Audrey suddenly piped up. Hesitating at her sudden unconfidence, she looked down at the seed in her hands before looking back up at her young friend. "There's…actually something I need to talk about first."

* * *

><p>Audrey gazed out into the wilderness, her breath caught in her throat. It hasn't changed, none of it. The darkness, the stumps, all of it was still there, and it was all just as horrible to look at. But this time, Audrey was not looking at it alone. The Wall had been knocked over, and now everyone could see.<p>

Thneedville could not hold its secrets any longer.

_"Ted, I can't do this."_

_Ted stared up at her with a confused expression on his face. "Can't do what?"_

_"This." Audrey held up the seed, distraught. "I can't plant the seed with you."_

_"What? What do you mean? I thought…I thought you wanted…"_

"_I do want to, Ted. But I can't. I'm…" Audrey paused and took a shaky breath. "I'm weak. I'm a pushover. One thing goes wrong, and I'll probably just…just slip back into my little cocoon. You have to do this." She quickly put the seed in the young boy's hands. "You. You're stronger, you're not like me."_

Audrey steadied herself against the seat of the landmover that she was standing in. Next to her, Ted pushed past his gramma and grasped onto the edge of the landmover. As Audrey watched in awe, Ted climbed to the top of the large vehicle and stood faceing the dumbfounded people of Thneedville.

_Ted stared up at her as if he couldn't believe what she was saying. "A-Audrey…you're not weak," he reassured her._

"_Yes I am," the girl insisted, looking at the floor. "I'll only drag you down. I'll get scared. I've been scared of speaking out for years. How can I help you plant a tree if I can't even talk about them?"_

"_Well," Ted hesitated, distresses at Audrey's tone, before looking down at the seed in his hands. "You told me about them, didn't you?"_

_Audrey said nothing._

_The boy paused, frowning down at the tiny plant. "Look…" he said. "I want the trees to come back just as much as you do. But I don't want to do this without you. I need your help, Audrey. I want your help." Reaching out, he took Audrey's hand and placed the seed in it once more, closing her fingers around it. "You don't have to say anything if you don't want to. Just stay with me and you'll be fine." He smiled up at her. "We'll do this together, Audrey. Ok?"_

_Audrey looked back at Ted, and for the first time she didn't see the silly, childish little boy who was always stumbling around trying to impress her. Something has changed in him. He had grown somehow._

_And if Ted could change, why couldn't she?_

"_…Ok."_

Audrey held her breath as Ted held up his hand to get everyone's attention.

"I am Ted Wiggins," he declared. "And I speak for the trees."

And for the first time in many years, Audrey felt truly happy.

_Let it Grow._

Audrey had never sung so loudly in her life. She was a little off key and was probably messing up the harmonies that the people of Thneedville had going, but she could not care less. Nobody cared at the moment. O'Hare was nowhere in sight and there was a real, live tree in Thneedville at last. It was just as Audrey had dreamed it would be, and it was all thanks to her lovestruck little friend.

Audrey kneeled down on the grass and watched as Ted carefully placed the seed in the ground, surrounding it with dirt. Glancing up at the boy's face, she smiled.

Maybe _she_ hadn't ventured out and somehow gotten a tree seed, and maybe she hadn't stood up and made an epic speech in front of everyone. But Ted had encouraged her to do something that she hadn't done in a long, long time. She had spoken up for herself. She had fought for what she believed in. And if she could do that, who's to say she couldn't do bigger things in the future?

He deserved a thank you. He had done more for her than he would ever know. Leaning over, she planted a big kiss on Ted's cheek, grinning a little at the shocked expression that crossed his face.

_Thank you, Ted._

She would not be silent anymore.

**THE END.**

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><p><strong>Hope you liked! Please review! <strong>


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